List of Nancy Drew books

The character of Nancy Drew – ghostwritten and credited to the pseudonymous Carolyn Keene – has appeared in a number of series over the years. The first and longest-running of these is the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, begun in 1930 and ended in 2003. The first spin-off series, The Nancy Drew Files, was begun in 1986. Since then, Nancy Drew has appeared in a number of other series and books, including a number of spin-offs where she investigates with the Hardy Boys.

In 1979, the Nancy Drew books began to be published by Wanderer Books Simon & Schuster in paperback format. Though formatted differently from the original 56-volume series which continued under Grosset & Dunlap's control, these new books were published under the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories banner. These books feature increasingly contemporary cover illustrations and some books have multiple versions of the cover art.

To collectors of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, books in the original series published at Simon & Schuster are called "Digests". This is due to the books resembling Digest-size paperbacks, differing from Grosset & Dunlap's hardcover books (one of the reasons why Adams switched to Simon & Schuster was because Grosset & Dunlap did not like this move, while Simon & Schuster agreed to it).

In 2005, the first eight volumes from the Wanderer section (#57-64) were republished by Grosset & Dunlap, as a special promotion for the celebration of Nancy Drew's 75th anniversary. These republications went out of print in 2013.

The main plot, formula, and continuity of the books remained similar to the original Grosset & Dunlap books still being published at the time. Harriet Adams was still involved in the Syndicate, even after she stopped writing the books in 1980; Simon & Schuster rejected her original manuscript for The Secret in the Old Lace, with the story being rewritten by Nancy Axelrad. After she died in 1982, the Syndicate continued with five of its partners (Adams' remaining three children, plus authors Nancy Axelrod and Lilo Wuenn), until its sale to Simon & Schuster in 1987.

The Triple Hoax was originally listed as the next book at the end of The Thirteenth Pearl. Grosset & Dunlap continued to list this until they lost a court case against the Syndicate and Simon & Schuster in May 1980. The book was later revised to eliminate The Triple Hoax. However, they later published this book — and the seven after that — in 2005, with the permission and collaboration of Simon & Schuster, in celebration of Nancy Drew's 75th anniversary.

During this period, the Syndicate began to hire new, younger writers, including Sharon Wagner, Richard Ballad, and James Duncan Lawrence. Ballad's books — Captive Witness and The Sinister Omen — were all originally written for The Hardy Boys, but were rewritten for unknown reasons. The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery also falls in this category.

The final two books (#77 and #78) were "backdoor pilots" for the spin-off The Nancy Drew Files, which began in 1986. Due to this, and the sale of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, the series went on a two-year hiatus to retool the series.

After volume 78, the series took a two-and-a-half year hiatus due to the sale of the Stratemeyer Syndicate to Simon & Schuster, and to begin The Nancy Drew Files spin-off. At this point, book packager Mega-Books took over the series, and hired different ghostwriters for the job (many of whom are still unknown). The ghost writers who are known are ones who have either been discovered through other resources, or have publicly revealed themselves as a ghostwriter for the series. The series also gained Anne Greenberg as the series' new editor; Greenberg would oversee the series for the next 16 years, and become one of the most influential Nancy Drew editors that helped the books continue until the 21st century.

Due to the cancellation of The Nancy Drew Files in 1997, Simon & Schuster rewrote several unpublished manuscripts into books for the original series. These books include: The Wild Cat Crime (#141), The E-mail Mystery (#144), and The Case of the Captured Queen (#148).

The writing style of these books took a different direction than the books of the Syndicate; modern technology is mentioned (making the books seem somewhat dated very quickly), continuity errors are common, and the books become shorter (reducing the books from a 20-chapter/180 page format, to a 16-chapter/150 page format). Characters Burt Eddleton and Dave Evans are eliminated completely, and Nancy mostly has a habit of rotating between George, Bess, and Ned. This setup creates a more realistic setup, rather than having all six drop everything to join Nancy. In the late 1990s, continuity errors and text errors became more common.

With the new millennium, the series changed publishers to the Aladdin subdivision of Simon & Schuster. With declining sales, and the departure of longtime editor Anne Greenberg, Simon & Schuster ended the original series in November 2003.

The books published in 2003 show a sharp decline in quality compared to earlier books[citation needed], as the new editors focused on preparing the new Nancy Drew, Girl Detective series. Continuity errors are rampant throughout these books: in No Strings Attached and Danger on the Great Lakes (both written by George Edward Stanley), Nancy and her friends are 17, and are on summer vacation; Ned works at a company; and George has chestnut hair (when she is usually a brunette). In Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland, Ned is suddenly blond, and it is hinted at that Nancy might be in college. Numerous typographic errors and mistakes are also found throughout these books.

The first Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: Super Sleuths book was published in 1981 with the sequel published in 1984. Both volumes contain seven short stories with Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys working together and are written under the pen-names of Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon. Both books were published under Simon & Schuster’s Wanderer Books imprint.[1]

This book was first published by Wanderer Books in 1984 and, like the Super Sleuths books, Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon are listed as co-authors. National Director of Program Services, Camp Fire, Inc, Karen W. Bartz wrote a foreword for this book. Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon also wrote a foreword.[1]

Nancy Drew, Girl Detective replaced the long-running Nancy Drew mysteries series, which began in 1930. This new series is written in first person narration, from Nancy's point of view, and features updated and overhauled versions of the main Nancy Drew characters. Nancy Drew in this version is a less than perfect teenage girl prone to forgetfulness, an object of jokes, and interested in other subjects over mysteries. Bess Marvin has gained skills in mechanics and computers and is no longer slightly overweight, and described as fashionable and trendy. George Fayne has becomes moody and sloppily dressed in this series, always more interested in tech and sarcastic retorts than solving mysteries. New secondary characters are introduced to populate River Heights and appear over multiple books, adding a framework to Nancy's world. Bess and George also gain siblings and family members with careers. Though this series has many improvements over the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, the drastic change in the main characters' personalities was hard for many readers to accept. In 2013 Nancy Drew, Girl Detective was replaced with the Nancy Drew Diaries series.

Beginning in 2005, Papercutz began issuing a new series of Nancy Drew graphic novels as an offshoot of the Girl Detective series. The series is edited by Jim Salicrup, written by Stefan Petrucha, and illustrated by Sho Murase. All the storylines are completely new. The manga-style illustrations and technical allusions (Nancy's hybrid car, George's tablet PC) give Nancy and her friends a 21st-century spin.

The series began being re-released as a part of the Nancy Drew Diaries series, with two volumes per issue.

On September 14, 2010, Papercutz continued the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective graphic novel series, now calling it Nancy Drew: Girl Detective - The New Case Files. These new novels center around a River Heights that has become obsessed with vampire books. The novels are as follows:

This is a spin-off series of both the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series and The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers series. The stories are told in first person, alternating chapters, between Frank's, Joe's, and Nancy's perspective. The first title in the series acts as an introduction between the characters. This series published one title per year until the end of the Girl Detective and Undercover Brothers series in 2012.

The current series from 2013 to present and is a reboot of the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series.

This is the first series to be available in three different formats; paperback, hardcover (with dust jacket), and eBooks. The first four titles had an initial printing of 25,000 copies in paperback and 2,500 copies in hardcover. The fifth, sixth, and seventh titles had an initial print run of 25,000 in paperback and 5,000 in hardcover. Books 8, 9, 10, and 11 had an initial print run of 10,000 in paperback and 5,000 in hardcover.

Books were initially scheduled to be published three times a year, with a January/May/September release schedule (with the exception of the first two books, released simultaneously in February, and the eleventh book, which was released a month ahead of time in December 2015). Beginning in 2016, the series dropped to two new titles per year, with a January/August release schedule beginning the next year. Though Simon and Schuster does not release sales information for these properties, on-line sites like Amazon and Barnes and Noble indicate sales are lack-luster to poor.

Unabridged audio books read by Jorjeana Marie available as CDs and downloads for the titles in the series.

The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew teamed up in this 36 volume series of paperbacks. This series follows the formula of the main characters and their friends typically involved in separate mysteries that end up being connected. The sleuths join forces to solve the overall mystery. This series is based in the Nancy Drew Files and Hardy Boys Casefiles continuity, so murder, romance, and flirtation between the series regulars are common. Nancy Drew and Frank Hardy share an attraction in this series, though after a brief kiss in "The Last Resort" this attraction is not acted on. Subsequent books focus on the respect and friendship that developed between the two and their continued feelings for Ned Nickerson and Callie Shaw. Several spin-off series were cancelled by Simon and Schuster at the end of 1997, including the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys SuperMystery series.

This series does not feature Nancy Drew beyond a cameo appearance in a couple books, but is set in her fictional hometown and still written under the Carolyn Keene pseudonym. The series focused on romance and lasted for only 16 titles.[7]

The Nancy Drew On Campus series, like The Nancy Drew Files, targeted an older audience. Nancy and her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne go to college; the series focused on college life and romance, rather than all solving mysteries.[8]

Starting in 2006, Aladdin Paperbacks published a new series to replace the Nancy Drew Notebooks series for younger readers. It features Nancy Drew, George Fayne, and Bess Marvin as eight-year-olds in the third grade at River Heights Elementary School, and solving kid sized mysteries, from finding a stolen ice cream formula entry to the culprit who cut the cake before the bride. This series also sets George's mother working her own catering company and reveals George's real name to be Georgia. This series ended in 2015 and was replaced by the Nancy Drew Clue Book series.

This is a re-boot of the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew series published by Aladdin Paperbacks. This is an interactive series, as readers may write down their clues and predictions. A page before the final chapter has questions the reader can answer regarding suspects, clues, and solutions. The first two titles were published July 7, 2015 in paperback, hardcover, and eBook editions written by Carolyn Keene with covers and internal illustrations by Peter Francis. The first three titles have had an initial print run of 35,000 in paperback and 5,000 in hardcover.